Rachel Callahan Designs Connection Via Creative Services Role at Fay Jones School

Rachel Callahan joined the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 2024 as creative services manager, bringing with her a background in graphic design shaped by work in tourism, advertising and commercial printing. A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Arts in studio art, Callahan began her professional design career in 2019 in Little Rock, where she developed a strong foundation in visual communication, branding and creative strategy.

Before arriving at the Fay Jones School, Callahan worked as a graphics and web designer for the city of Little Rock's tourism division. In fall 2023, she made the move to Northwest Arkansas, ready for a change both personally and professionally.

"When I first moved here, I was looking for a graphic design or marketing job and saw the position open at the Fay Jones School," Callahan said. "Because both my parents are U of A alumni, I thought it sounded interesting to do graphic design for an architecture school at the university they both attended."

Now more than two years into the role, that sense of belonging has only grown stronger.

"I think the main reason I've stayed is because I genuinely like the people that I work with and the work that I do," Callahan said. "I like being part of something that gives students the opportunity to be successful."

As creative services manager, no two days look quite the same. Callahan is currently leading the school's website redesign project while also managing a steady rotation of annual projects, including the lecture series, Alumni Design Awards, Design Camp and the school's ReView magazine.

"I always joke that I start my day off with a to-do list of things that I need to get done, but I almost never end the day with the same list as I started with," Callahan said. "I think that's a good thing, though. Variety and new challenges help to keep my creativity going."

At the center of her current work is the website redesign, a long-running project that began shortly after she stepped into the role. Drawing from her experience with the redesign of the Little Rock tourism website, Callahan approached the process with an emphasis on research and collaboration, reaching out to other architecture and design schools to learn from their experiences.

Those conversations connected her with professionals at institutions such as Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Iowa State University, the University of Kentucky and Kansas State University, offering valuable insight into both process and strategy. Through these exchanges, Callahan gained a clearer understanding of how others approached their work, what lessons they learned and what they might have done differently — insights that have proven invaluable. Now partnering with the school's website design firm, she is focused on shaping a site that reflects the identity and vision of the Fay Jones School.

"A website is often the first impression that prospective students have of our school," Callahan said. "It should show them the authentic experience of being a student here, as well as provide them with an accessible and easy source of information."

That same intentionality carries through her broader approach to design. Callahan describes her process as highly collaborative, often starting with conversations before moving into visuals. She begins by understanding what the piece needs to communicate and the story it is meant to tell, looking at both past and present work to see how the school's identity has been expressed over time.

Her goal is to create work that feels distinct while still grounded in the school's character, culture and mission.

"We are a small, tight-knit community, and the work I create needs to speak to that," Callahan said. "Students should be able to see what we are putting out as representations of the school and be able to connect to it. I want my work to reflect the creative, hard-working nature of our students who are always pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a designer."

One project that stands out from her time at the school is designing the 2024 issue of ReView magazine, her first large-scale publication and a defining learning experience. As she worked through the layout, she immersed herself in stories about student projects, faculty work and the many things happening throughout Vol Walker Hall, gaining a deeper understanding of how the school operates and what brings its community together.

Seeing the finished product in print made the experience even more meaningful.

"Being able to have a physical realization of a piece of work is always special to me," Callahan said. "The people reading the magazine might not think about the person who designed it, but I'll always know that I'm the one that created it, and that it exists because I made it."

Beyond design work, Callahan has also worked closely with interior architecture and design students by reviewing their portfolios. Though she initially wasn't sure how much she could contribute, Callahan quickly realized that her experience would be highly valuable. She found that, while students had strong spatial design skills, many were still developing confidence in presenting that work in a two-dimensional format.

"It was an opportunity for me to help those students connect the design thinking they were already using for interior architecture with graphic design," Callahan said. "It was incredibly satisfying and rewarding to see students make the connection between graphic and interior design and to understand that they can use their design skills in other ways."

She often encourages students to think of their portfolio as a designed space, asking them to approach it like an empty room — considering the experience they want someone to have as they move through it and how their work can be presented in a way that feels intentional and cohesive. For Callahan, this mindset reflects the broader impact of design and communication at the school.

"Good design matters," Callahan said. "Students care about how things look and how information is being presented to them, especially for a design school. Our students and any prospective students want to get a design degree because they care about creating something that is visually and experientially unique and impactful."

Through strong visual storytelling and clear communication, she sees an opportunity to strengthen both recruitment and student success.

"We are a small community, and collaboration with students, faculty and alumni encourages creativity, mentorship and student success," Callahan said. "When we use strong design to promote the school and connect with our community, it supports our students and their futures."

Read the full Q&A with Rachel Callahan.